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The Fourth Apprentice/Chapter 3
Chapter description :Dovekit wriggles with excitement as Whitewing grooms her, before her and Ivykit's apprentice ceremony. Whitewing tells her to sit still, and from the entrance to the den, Ivykit reports with a quivering voice that cats are gathering already, adding she thinks the whole Clan has come to watch the ceremony. Dovekit twists away from her mother to join her sister, urging them to go. Whitewing tells her it’s not time yet, they must wait for Firestar to call the meeting. Daisy, who is curled up beside Poppyfrost, gently tells her it won’t be long. Dovekit asks if they’ll watch, and Poppyfrost says of course, giving her pelt a quick grooming. :Dovekit gives her shoulders another wriggle, and wonders who their mentors will be. Before Ivykit can answer, Firestar calls the meeting from the Highledge. Dovekit springs up, about to bounce out into the clearing, but is held back by Whitewing’s tail, who says not yet, and she will walk out like a sensible apprentice. :Dovekit tries to force her impatience down, when Ivykit says she thinks she’s going to be sick. Dovekit let’s out a wail, wondering what the Clan will think if her sister is sick during her ceremony. Whitewing calmly meows she’s not, and they’ll both behave themselves and make her proud. Their father, Birchfall, appears at the den entrance to fetch them. Whitewing gives her own pelt a quick grooming before joining them. Dovekit can feel the eyes of many cats on her as she pads out of the nursery beside Ivykit, their parents following close behind. :Her heart is thumping so hard she thinks it might burst out of her chest, but she keeps her head and tail held high. Ivykit mutters into her ear that she know she’ll forgot what to say. Dovekit brushes against her sister’s pelt, mewing she’ll be fine. Whitewing guides them through the circle of cats, who part for their entrance. Dovekit finds herself standing between Ivykit and Squirrelflight, the warrior gives her a nod of encouragement. :Firestar begins speaking, then beckons Dovekit and Ivykit closer with his tail. He gives Dovekit her apprentice name, Dovepaw, and her Clanmates cheer her new name. Lionblaze is chosen as Dovepaw’s mentor, and the new apprentice’s heart lurches, thinking he is a great cat, but worried he won’t like her. She bounds over to him and is surprised to see how pleased he looks as he touches his nose to hers. Dovepaw promises to work hard, and Lionblaze echoes it, adding they’ll make a great team. She stands proudly beside Lionblaze while Firestar performs Ivykit’s ceremony. Cinderheart is chosen as Ivypaw’s mentor, and a murmur of approval rises up from the surrounding cats as Ivypaw scampers over to her mentor and touches noses with her. The Clan cheers both the new apprentice’s names. :Dovepaw eagerly asks Lionblaze what they’re doing now, and the golden tom replies nothing exciting, the Clan needs water, so they’re going to collect some moss and go down to the lake and soak it. Dovepaw does a little skip, excited to see more of their territory. Glancing around, she asks if Ivypaw and Cinderheart can join them. Cinderheart pads toward them with Ivypaw bouncing beside her, saying of course, but warns they need to watch out for RiverClan, who might try to cause trouble. :Ivypaw tips her head to one side, mewing she thought RiverClan was on the other side of the lake. Lionblaze growls not anymore, and he’ll explain as they go. He leads them through the entrance tunnel and heads in the direction of the lake. Dovepaw’s excitement to see the territory is mixed with indignation at what Lionblaze and Cinderheart tell them how RiverClan is trying to claim the lake as their own. Ivypaw asks why Firestar doesn’t fight them, and Cinderheart explains their leader doesn’t like causing trouble, he always tries looking for a peaceful solution, that’s part of what makes him such a good leader. :Lionblaze warns them to stick close, and whatever happens, don’t mess with with RiverClan. They go to the foot of a huge oak, where they collect balls of moss, then continue on to the lake. As they emerge onto the bank, Dovepaw’s mouth drops open, and her moss falls to the ground. She gasps she thought the lake would be huge, but it’s nothing more than a puddle. Lionblaze explains it usually reaches to where they stand now, angling his ears to a strip of pebbles that give way to dry mud. :Ivypaw wonders what will happen if the lake completely vanishes, and Cinderheart states it won’t, although she exchanges an uncertain look with Lionblaze. The golden tabby begins showing the apprentices the other Clans territories from where they stand, pointing out WindClan and ShadowClan. Dovepaw concentrates for a moment, trying to memorize every scene in front of her, and sees a group of ShadowClan cats, trekking toward the lake. On WindClan’s side, she notices cats returning to the shore and breathes in their scent. She tells Ivypaw she should pick up the scents of the cats over there. Ivypaw gives her a puzzled look in response, and before Dovepaw can say anything, she is interrupted by an exclamation from Lionblaze. :Across the mud, a patrol of ThunderClan cats stand near the water’s edge, and appear to be struggling, with their backs arched and tails thrashing. Heartbeats later, one of the cats, Thornclaw, races to the shore, explaining that Berrynose and Spiderleg are stuck in the mud and he needs a branch to pull them out. Cinderheart says they’ll help, and beckons the apprentice’s forward with her tail. :As Cinderheart leads them onto the mud, Dovepaw glances back to see Thornclaw pulling a long stick from under the roots of an elder bush at the bank. Before he can carry it away, Jayfeather explodes from the undergrowth, spitting the herbs he is carrying onto the ground, demanding that Thornclaw put the stick back. :Thornclaw argues and Jayfeather gets furious, then the golden brown warrior snarls he’ll bring it back, then races across the mud with the stick in his jaws. Ivypaw wonders if the heat is getting to the medicine cat, and Dovepaw shrugs. :As they approach the edge of the lake, she sees the bodies of dead fish lying around, and almost begins choking at the smell. Berrynose and Spiderleg are up to their haunches in mud, still thrashing to get out. Dovepaw and Ivypaw are happy they won’t be sharing a den with the two muddy warriors, and Ivypaw goes off to examine a dead fish some fox-lengths away. :Thornclaw helps pull the trapped warriors free, and is about to return the branch to Jayfeather, but before he can, a RiverClan warrior, Rainstorm, charges at Ivypaw, thinking she is going to steal the dead fish. Ivypaw spins around with her eyes wide in terror. Cinderheart bounds off to intercept the tom before he can attack, Lionblaze and Dovepaw race after her. Lionblaze suddenly warns Rainstorm to watch out, as he’s running straight toward the mud hole Berrynose and Spiderleg had gotten stuck in. :The warrior is too fixed on Ivypaw to notice the warning, and he slides into the mud with a screech of surprise and fear as he sinks. Cinderheart says it serves him right for trying to attack a new apprentice, and Ivypaw anxiously apologizes. The mud reaches Rainstorm’s shoulders as he frantically tries to free himself. Thornclaw trots up and puts the stick down for him to grab, but the RiverClan warrior can’t get a firm grip, as though he doesn’t have the strength to pull himself out, and he begs for help. :Lionblaze mutters and creeps to the very edge of the hole, then leans down and grabs Rainstorm by the scruff and hauls him out. Once out, Rainstorm tries to stand, but his legs give way beneath him. Rainstorm is too weak to travel back to RiverClan, and his patrol is arguing with ShadowClan. Not wanting to get involved in the debate, Thornclaw decides they’ll bring Rainstrom to ThunderClan. Lionblaze let’s the tom lean on his shoulder for support. :Before they go back to camp, Dovepaw reminds Thornclaw to put the stick back so Jayfeather won’t get angry. Cinderheart asks Ivypaw if she’s all right. The young apprentice apologizes once more, and Dovepaw assures her it wasn’t her fault. They gather their moss and collect the water, anxious to get back to camp to hear what Firestar does with Rainstorm. Characters Major *Ivykit *Lionblaze *Cinderheart }} Minor *Daisy *Poppyfrost *Ferncloud *Firestar *Berrynose *Birchfall *Squirrelflight *Thornclaw *Spiderleg *Jayfeather *Rainstorm }} Notes and references Category:The Fourth Apprentice Category:Omen of the Stars arc Category:Chapter subpages